anyhow, i got my poly-urethane foam carving done and that's him hangin' on the door..

I love your foam carving! If you have more pics of the process or how-to's please share. I've worked with spray home for home improvement projects and I hate that stuff so I'd like to use the premade foam you mentioned - what is it called and where could I purchase it? Thanks for the inspiration!

yeah, the pre-formed foam is great stuff, i've encountered it quite a few times
over the years in my working life, most notably while working as a boat builder.
so, if there is a mob near you making fibreglass boats, they might be able to
steer you towards their supplier. it's not what i'd call cheap though.

or, if you had a mould of some sort you could achieve similar results, as the foam will
compact into an even density if it is contained. be a bit careful here as there must be
some sort of pressure relief. generally just a hole with something like a house brick over
it, if the pressure builds too much it will just lift the brick and escape. though for a
one-off like mine it wasn't worth going to this length.

when i did mine, i confess that i was impatient for results and sprayed the lot in one hit,
if i were to do it again i'd (lay off the 'refreshments'... ) and build it up in layers
to [possibly] avoid large air bubbles. as it was i carved him out twice, the second time was
after i'd filled all the dang voids.
the actual carving is easy and anyone could do it, while i was doing mine i thought it was rather
like filleting a large fish. like i said i used an old serrated bread knife and a bit of sandpaper.
i do have other pics but i don't think they'd be much help to you.

one hint: initially it didn't seem to stick to the ply, so i sprayed a little on then
worked it in with a spatula until the whole thing was covered then went back and put
the rest on.

to mark it out in the first place, i went down to a local electrical appliance store
and lifted a large piece of cardboard from their bin.
source your image, draw him out in one half, then flip him over on a centre line to
mark the other side, that way both sides are identical. after i'd marked his outline
i cut the cardboard out as i went on to do the details, eyes, mouth, nose, head-dress etc.
keeping all the bits as a guide later when it comes time to carve him out.

other times i've encountered poly-urethane, after it's srayed out and shaped you'd
adjust the chemical ratio and the p-u is sprayed on as a resin, or you could use
epoxy or polyester as a coating if he was going to encounter any heavy wear and tear.
in my case though, i just gave him a few coats of acrylic paint because the door he's
on won't generally be used by other people as it leads into a storeroom or into the shed.

as is, he doesn't weigh much more than a surfboard, which is what i was aiming at.

hope that helps,

cheers..bob.

edit: don't forget that all these chemicals are toxic.. at least until they harden.

wear eye protection at least because, as they say, "it sticks like shit to a blanket".

About carvable foam: There is a product call AB Foam. It's a 2 part mix and can be poured into molds and there should be no voids. It dries very quick and expands exponentially! It takes a few tries to get the right technique.

the spray cans available are obviously a slightly different formula
that forms a skin as it sets.
you'll also notice the safety gear they were all wearing in the video,
making the spray cans possibly the better option for home use, but even
then you should take steps to protect yourself.

i'd imagine there's a bit of surf hitting the coast after a blow like that?
Dave and the crew would be happy with that, i'm sure.

a couple of years ago i found some (small) giant clam shells at a garage sale that had been
polished on the outside to be used as serving bowls, the woman wanted to keep one of them
and also a larger one, so i ended up with five.

i've finally been able to put them together as i'd imagined, and there they are...

Those clamshell lamps are awesome! Clever idea using the bamboo rail to mount the fixtures and hide wires.

Hurricane Irene generated some nice long swells and large waves that were great for surfing, but didn't approach closer than about 200 miles (322 kilometers), so no on-shore damage occurred here. My son, Tommy, left for Morro Negrito in Chiriqui, Panama, two days before to serve as a surf guide and instructor there for a couple of weeks. He was sure disappointed that he missed the fun here, but he's having a great time surfing the Pacific coast there.